


For the Dancing and the Dreaming

by Thursday26



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fluff and Angst, angsty ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 17:05:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19089367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursday26/pseuds/Thursday26
Summary: Stoick and Valka sing a song





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got caught up looking at my Valka/Stoick pics and was reminded of this that I wrote a long time ago. Canon compliant-ish? Spoilers for the end of movie 2, maybe? Post HTTYD2 in there as well, but it's so short.
> 
> this came about because i love Valka and Stoick's song
> 
> I'm sorry

Hiccup sits down, trying to keep his excitement contained, eyes locked on his parents. They can be a family again. Valka–Mom–can come home.She can see what Berk has become, she can be part of it. She’s going to be so proud.

Watching them preparing food, talking, being in the same space, it’s so easy to see them at home: he can see them standing together inside the house, doing the exact same thing. It’s so close that Hiccup can taste it. Gobber is talking, but he barely notices. What catches his attention is when Stoick starts to whistle.

The tune is familiar and it stops Hiccup from thinking anymore about the future. He’s suddenly in the past,still a wee thing, but too smart for his own good. Tiny, tiny, tiny. He remembers seeing his da in the kitchen, his shoulders hunched, still impossibly larger than Hiccup, a mountain inside the house. Stoick put Hiccup to bed again after telling him  _ another _ story about his mother. Hiccup, curious little thing that he was then, asked (again) why the other kids had moms and he only had his da. Stoick always responded to these questions with tales of the beautiful, brave, and strong woman he called his wife. Stoick’s tales painted the most wonderful pictures of her in Hiccup’s mind. His voice may have cracked, but she always sounded like the brightest ray of sunshine on the darkest day. And although his voice broke, and his eyes got misty, he never cried in front of Hiccup. 

One night, Hiccup, his head too full of questions, had snuck out of bed, looking for his da. Maybe to beg for another story, maybe for something else, but Hiccup remembers freezing when he saw the mountain starting to shake. He can’t remember if he was scared, but he knew that he wasn’t supposed to see what he was seeing. Frozen, Hiccup watched. Then that tune wove through the silence, longing and melancholy, cracking a couple of times. Then Stoick started to sing.

“Oh, I love this one,” says Gobber, bringing Hiccup partially out of his memories. Those memories have superimposed themselves over the present. Hiccup is staring at Stoick’s back as he moves closer to Valka, but he looks so much bigger, and like a shaking mountain. There’s something stuck in Hiccup’s throat.

Stoick’s rough voice fully immerses Hiccup in the past, feeling like a child again, watching something he shouldn’t. “I’ll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne’er a fear of drowning…” Hiccup feels himself leaning forward, but he stops himself.”...I’ll gladly ride the waves of life, if you would marry me. No scorching sun nor freezing cold will–”

“Will stop my on my journey,” Gobber cuts in, off key and jolting something inside Hiccup. He feels out of place and oddly upset at the interruption. Stoick gives Gobber a glare. “Sorry,” he says, sheepish, and takes his seat again. Hiccup tries to convey the confusion he feels about the interruption, but he barely moves, still stuck in the past. He also knows the glare isn’t directed toward him, but he still feels like he’s been caught. 

Stoick takes a deep breath and turns back to Valka, continuing. “If you would promise me your…” he grabs her hand in his and brings it up. Hiccup can’t see it, but he has to be holding it to his chest. “...heart..” It sounds the same as that night, barely making it out of Stoick, broken and wistful and aching. Familiar fear cuts through Hiccup, a child scared seeing his father, the father he thought was the strongest Viking in the village, like this. Stoick the Vast is not soft. The next part sounds just as hard to get out as that night, voice raspy and weighed with emotion. “...and love…” 

Hiccup can recognize the slump of his shoulders: Stoick can’t continue. That night is back in his mind, clear in front of him. Stoick looked to the side, reaching out his hand, and his shoulders slumped when his hand encountered empty space. Little Hiccup watched, holding his breath, while Stoick’s hand stayed suspended in the air; then it moved to his face, covering his eyes. And Hiccup watched his da cry. 

Little Hiccup hurried to his room as quietly as he could manage, throat tight and eyes wet, scared and confused. After that night, Hiccup didn’t ask about his ma anymore. And Stoick didn’t offer stories either. 

The same sad feeling fills Hiccup’s chest at how his dad sounds, how his shoulders look. Sure, there’s another hand in his, but Stoick is still as broken as that night. Hiccup tears his gaze from the pair and looks at the ground, unable to watch, just like that night. 

“...And love me for eternity.” 

Hiccup’s eyes snap up. That voice doesn’t belong to Stoick, and he’s never heard those words before. Valka’s back is straight and she’s looking somewhere into the distance, as if to remember something. Hiccup is fully in the present now, acutely aware of the log he’s sitting on, the sweat still drying under his arms and at his collarbone, the chilly breeze that cuts through the space every now and then. 

 

Valka takes a deep breath and continues, “My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me.” She’s walking away from Stoick, not to get away it seems, but to lead Stoick. He follows her, a light filling his eyes that Hiccup has never seen before in his life. She stops and starts to turn back, holding up her arm, Stoick mimicking the movement without hesitation. “But I’ve no need of mighty deeds–” they’re smiling at each other as they switch arms, Stoick even laughing in delight “–when I feel your arms around me.” They hold hands, crossed over each other and… 

… they’re dancing together.

Stoick’s voice is bright as he continues, “But I would bring you rings of gold, I’d even sing you –” he drops to his knee and Valka keeps hold of one of his hands, dancing lightly around him and hopping over his leg, laughing “–poetry.” 

“Oh would you?” she asks as she’s swung back into his arms, falling into step like it’s second nature. 

“And I would keep you from all harm!” he belts out. “If you would stay beside me!” They lean into each other, Valka smiling and laughing. Hiccup feels like he’s seeing something divine, a gift from the gods. 

“I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry,” Valka sings easily, spinning around like it’s a move she’s done a thousand times before. “I only want your hand to hold–”

“I only want you near me,” Stoick sings. He can’t take his eyes off her.

Then they start to spin together, eyes locked on one another, both singing, Gobber starting to tap his foot and peg on the ground in time with their singing. “To love and miss, to sweetly hold for the dancing and the dreaming–” Gobber is standing now, dancing happily by himself, but it matches the tone. Hiccup watches Gobber with a grin on his face. “–Through all life’s sorrows and delights–” Gobber pulls Hiccup off his seat to his feet, completely breaking him from the past. Hiccup can feel himself laughing. “–I’ll keep your love inside me.”

Gobber starts to swing him around and Hiccup can hear his parents’ singing picking up speed, “I’ll swim and sail on savage seas with ne’er a fear of drowning–” Gobber releases Hiccup and his eyes are glued to his mom and dad. They’re whirling in a circle, eyes only for each other, smiles on their faces. “And I’ll gladly ride the waves of life if you will marry me!” On the last note, Stoick lifts Valka into the air and spins her around, her hands on his shoulders to stay balanced. Gobber is singing ‘me’ still, continuing the note long past everyone else, but everyone is still smiling and laughing.

“I’m still going!” Gobber sings, Hiccup taps him on the gut. He cuts off. “I’m done.” Hiccup chuckles at him. Stoick and Valka are hugging each other tightly. Hiccup blinks a few times watching them, burning the sight into his memory along with their song.

He’s never been so happy to hear the ending of a song in his life. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sweet bells jangled out of tune."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very short
> 
> again... i'm sorry

Hiccup is looking for Valka. 

The battle is over, the dust has settled, Drago is gone, but where could she be? She wouldn’t just leave, not when they just found each other. He knows that things haven’t exactly worked out, but he’d like to get to know his mother. 

Hiccup searches for her on foot, partly because he refuses to believe that Valka has gone off too far and partly because he needs to rest Toothless, said dragon trotting beside him because he doesn’t understand the concept of  _ resting _ . It’s the end of a very long day. So much has happened today, from the defeat of Drago to Hiccup being named chief to the long cleanup that started after. Most of the village is still under ice, although those who lost homes have been temporarily re-homed until they can figure out if the houses can be saved or if they should build new ones. Hiccup huffs, exhausted. He’s had to make so many decisions today, be in so many places at once, and he knows it’ll only happen again tomorrow. All he wants to do is check on his mom and then go to bed. The sun is already setting, turning the sky orange and red. 

Then he spots something.

On a cliff near the edge of the village, around some of the worst of the ice left on Berk, there’s a figure that looks like Cloudjumper. Valka won’t be too far from him. Hiccup heads that way, Toothless following as far as he can. There’s enough ice that it’s hard for a human to maneuver, let alone a dragon, so Toothless sticks back, pouting, while Hiccup continues on. Hiccup would remind him that he wouldn’t be in this situation if he’d stayed back at the house and  _ rested _ , but Toothless has made it clear that he won’t relax until Hiccup does. Stubborn dragon. 

He approaches her from behind. The sun is low on the horizon, turning Valka and Cloudjumper into shadows. Then Cloudjumper turns his head when Hiccup is a fair distance away, but still not too close. Valka hasn’t noticed him yet. For some reason, Hiccup slows his pace, staring at Cloudjumper until he stops completely. The only sound is the rush of the wind and the sound of the ocean crashing into the cliffside. The wind ruffles Hiccup’s hair and chills him. He doesn’t move though, pinned by Cloudjumper’s stare. Cloudjumper doesn’t look angry or upset, but Hiccup feels like he needs to stop, to be still. 

Then he hears Valka take a shaky breath, the sound almost lost in the crashing of the waves. Hiccup’s chest constricts to hear it. It sounds too familiar.Valka is staring out over the ocean, not turning around. Hiccup can only guess she’s staring at the horizon. The sun is halfway behind that line, reminding Hiccup of fire. He can feel his eyes start to fill with tears. He’s not sure why, exactly.

Then Valka starts to whistle. It’s the same melody Stoick whistled to her in the moment their family was whole. The sound tugs at Hiccup’s heart like it’s pierced by a string. 

She can’t finish the melody, the song falling away and her hunching over, Hiccup watching her shoulders start to shake. Hiccup stares, not sure what to do, tears streaming down his face. 

He hides his face in his hands, sobbing silently. Now that Hiccup knows how the song ends, he wishes Stoick was here to finish it. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry
> 
> I'm on [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/_Thursday_26) if y'all wanna yell :)
> 
> Make sure to leave a comment and a kudos! 
> 
> Again, I'm so sorry <3


End file.
